Michael Tilson Thomas
© Brigitte Lacombe
This week, at Davies Symphony Hall, Michael Tilson Thomas conducts his very last concerts with the San Francisco Symphony. The program is Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in three performances, through this Saturday. The Symphony had announced that these would be Thomas’s last appearances on a subscription program, marking a late chapter in a legendary career as conductor, composer and leader of one of the world’s top orchestras.
In 2021, Thomas was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a pernicious brain cancer; he announced his status in 2022. Late last year, he withdrew from two weeks worth of Symphony events scheduled for 2024 to focus on his health. In December, he was honored with the newly designated MTT Way, a block of Grove Street by Davies Hall renamed in his honor.
